Nintendo 3DS Officially Priced, Release Date Announced

Nintendo finally pulls back the curtain on the juicy 3DS details we all wanted to know.

While nerds are in New York getting their first taste of the Nintendo 3DS, the rest of us are cruising the net in hopes of seeing some sort of information. Well, the floodgates have opened and the 3DS’ price point and North American launch date has been revealed.

You’ll be able to dive face first into 3D, handheld gaming on March 27th, 2011 for the price of $249.99. You’ll also be able to choose between two different color schemes — cosmo black and aqua blue.

$249.99? Unexpected for some, but not for me. If you do some internet sleuthing, you’ll actually be able to find several podcasts featuring me from places like Kombo.com and PressTheButtons.com. There I’ve gone on record as saying this unit will never break $250. Boom.

Nintendo’s always been in the business of making affordable, mind blowing products. Why stop now?

One has to wonder how much the parallax barrier system is costing them if they’re able to make this unit so affordable. It’s entirely possible that Nintendo is losing money for each unit sold under this price model, much like Sony’s been doing with the PS3. That’s where the company has to make up for the difference with software movement. And that roster is looking stellar.

Finally, here’s the full list of games expected to release for the 3DS between launch day and E3 2011: